Page:They who walk in the wilds, (IA theywhowalkinwil00robe).pdf/27

 dropped to the ground, and made off at a leisurely lope, pretending to ignore his tormentors. The latter followed him for nearly half a mile, till at last, satisfied with their triumph, they returned to their autumn business of gathering beechnuts for the winter store.

The wanderer was by this time much too ravenous to brood over his discomfiture. He must find something to eat. Resuming his stealthy prowl, he presently came to the edge of a little river, its golden-brown current gleaming and flashing in the sun. He was just about to creep down to it and quench his thirst when he saw a small blackish-brown creature, about the length of a rabbit but shorter in the legs and very slim, emerge from the water and crawl forth upon the bank, dragging after it a glistening trout almost as big as itself.

Mishi had never seen a mink before, but he felt sure the little black animal would serve very well for his breakfast. In this, however, he was mistaken. He little knew the mink's elusiveness. The mighty spring with which he launched himself through the screen of leafage was lightning-swift, but when he landed, the mink had vanished as completely as a burst bubble. The fish, however, was there; and wasting no time in vain surmise, Mishi bolted it, head and tail. It was hardly a full meal for a beast of his inches, but it was